Our Love
by American Punk
Summary: The final battle is won, but things didn't turn out how some would have liked. With the destruction surrounding them, Hermione and Severus comtemplate the past year and a half they spent together, and look towards the future. First 2 chaps in songfic styl
1. Under the Rose

Disclaimer: I own nothing, neither the lyrics nor the people. Props go to J.K. Rowling and of course the greatest band of all time HIM.

I dream of the winter in my heart turning to spring  
While the ice gives way under my feet  
And so I drown with the sun 

Severus Snape cast many dark spells the night of the final battle. I knew that. I wasn't going to try to pretend that he was good and innocent because he was not.

Nobody was.

We all had our hidden secrets that night. Ron was apparently hiding the fact that he had joined the Death Eaters. We found out soon enough. His jealousy was directing solely towards Harry. He hated him by the end of the long drawn out war. It was because of Luna Lovegood. She had chosen Harry, and Ron could never forgive that he was always second best. He killed her that night, deciding that if he couldn't have her, no one could.

There was so much evil.

The biggest secret, however, was ours. Severus's and mine. We had worked together on potions for the past year before the war, we were close. We were in love. I looked for him that night. He wasn't hard to find, even though he wore a mask. I could sense him, as he could me. We had been torn between wanting and propriety, pupil and teacher or lovers, but when I saw him then, there was no denying how I felt.

I loved him.

I've been burning in water and drowning in flame  
To prove you wrong and scare you away  
I admit my defeat and want back home  
In your heart under the rose 

He whipped off his mask and joined me on the side that harbored those who were of "the light." This infuriated his Death Eater peers who had believed him loyal. Lucius Malfoy screamed something about his being a blood traitor and called me a mudblood whore. I was the Delilah to their Samson. He had raised his wand to kill me, but Severus interceded. Before Lucius could even get the words out, he crumpled to the floor, dead.

I always knew in my heart that Severus would protect me, he loved me, and even if he never spoke the words I would know it. It was in my heart, a heart that I had believed, after the brutal murder of my parents, would remain an icy lump beneath my breast for the rest of my days. How wrong I was. In the sweet darkness of Severus's lab my heart began to melt and beat in tune to the newly thawed heart that was his. We had lived in the unbearable darkness that characterized the wizarding world after the death of Albus Dumbledore at the hands of none other than the man I loved.

I open my eyes with a sigh of relief  
As the warmth of summer's sunlight dances around me  
And I see you with dead leaves in your hands

We were perfect together, our movements and spells molding as though this battle of life and death was a well rehearsed dance. Perhaps it was. A moment of distraction, we both looked towards the center of the battlefield where Ron was fighting his own sister. With tears in her eyes she cursed him and he fell to the floor. Not dead, but badly wounded. Harry and the dark lord were fighting one another. The battle seemed to stop around them as we all turned to watch. Blood flowed like water over the battle scarred ground, and many of our own had been lost for this moment. There was no trumpeting horn or the slightest flourish from Harry when he finally brought down the dark lord, just a sigh of relief from the golden boy who was anything but. We had all grown dark; this was a harsh world we'd grown up in, it had the ability to corrupt a saint, let alone a boy who had been angry for most of his life. 

The war was over and Voldemort had been vanquished. I turned to Severus, relief tugging my lips into a smile. He pulled me to him and I came willingly as I had many times before. I could feel him trembling and I knew what he was thinking about.

He was finally free.

I was free to love him. Suddenly he went stiff and pulled me down with him to the earthen ground. He landed on top of me and I saw his wand shoot out and with the deadly quickness of a man whose reflexes were born on a will to survive, he killed a Death Eater who had been trying to murder me when I had my back turned. He stood and swept me away from the battleground. He was afraid that his betrayal would bring harm to me.

I've been burning in water and drowning in flame  
To prove you wrong and scare you away  
I admit my defeat and want back home  
In your heart under the rose

"I love you"

The first words he'd spoken that day. I never dreamed he'd be able to say the words. He'd guarded his heart for so long; afraid that Voldemort would discover his feelings and I would be harmed. The only thing the dark lord hated more than Harry was love, as he had never experienced it and as it was what had brought about his first "death." I never knew the true burden he bore until I saw him for the first time free of it.

"I love you, too."

A/N review please. I love them, and they make me update faster, I have half of the first one done and when I get up to 8 reviews I'll post it, so please review. _Is a review whore._


	2. Killing Loneliness

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The people belong to J.K. Rowling and the lyrics belong to the greatest band ever, HIM.

Author's Note: **This is important, don't ignore it as I (sometimes) ignore author's notes. **This is Severus's POV, and it's the last chapter before the flashback to a year and a half prior to the war.

_Memories, sharp as daggers  
Pierce into the flesh of today  
Suicide of love took away all that matters  
And buried the remains in an unmarked grave in your heart  
_

I reached out to caress Hermione's cheek. I knew that she loved me, but I never heard her say the words. I didn't realize how much I needed them until they were spoken. She did what no one could; she brought me back from the brink of insanity that I had been teetering on for the past four years. She was everything, when I heard Lucius's words I snapped. Then he dared to try to harm her. Had I not worried about her reaction, I would have tortured him first. I didn't deserve her in my life, but I was too damn tired of trying to be noble. I'd done that for a year and a half already; all I wanted now was her. She had been so sorrowful in the beginning of our work. I don't blame her. When I'd seen my mother murdered I had done the worst thing anyone could. I'd gone to the Death Eaters. She mourned for a period and many nights she would come to work with me with eyes red and puffy, indicating that she had cried recently. Slowly, this had stopped; then I begin to see the woman she really was. She was no longer the know-it-all she had been. Sorrow had etched its way into her soul, making her less exuberant and showing her that things were not always black and white. You couldn't learn everything from textbooks. The first time we kissed, I felt like the world came crashing down around us. It was as though nothing existed anymore; we were alone in the world and the only thing that mattered was the woman in my arms. It felt that way now as, once again, she pressed her soft lips to mine. Relief flooded my system. I could love her and know that she wouldn't be worse off for this love. She would never be harmed for loving me.

_With the venomous kiss you gave me  
I'm killing loneliness (Killing loneliness)  
With the warmth of your arms you saved me,  
Oh, I'm killing loneliness with you  
I'm killing loneliness that turned my heart into a tomb  
I'm killing loneliness  
_

I didn't care about what else happened with the battle. Frankly, all I cared about, aside from the death of the dark lord, was that she made it out alive. Potter actually did something right for once. Hermione looked up at me through her eyelashes. Every time she looked at me like that I felt as though I could do anything.

"Severus, what happens now?"

Before I could answer ministry officials swarmed around us. I was still a wanted man; the only proof that I was supposed to kill Albus was his portrait, which had burned later in the fire that had been set in the Headmaster's office.

"There he is, the traitor."

"Murderer!"

"He's got Granger, he'll kill her, too. Get him!"

"No! Don't!"

I pulled her up against me and apparated as quickly as I could, but I still felt the nausea from being in such close vicinity to the killing curse.

_Nailed to the cross, together  
As solitude begs us to stay  
Disappear in the lie forever  
And denounce the power of death over our souls and secret words are said to start a war  
_

"Where are we?

"Rosewood, my estate. It's untraceable and inaccessible to anyone who is not accompanied by me. I'll reset the wards tonight so they'll allow you to enter and leave at your leisure."

"Why would they want to kill you, you're a war hero."

"They don't know that, do they? Only the Order does, and when the world does find out, they won't trust me anyway." I turned to look at her "This is my life"

I waited for her to recoil from my cold demeanor, but she didn't. She stepped closer to me and laid her head on my chest.

"You don't have to hide behind your façade with me Severus."

I wrapped my arms around her, knowing once more that I didn't deserve her.

_With the venomous kiss you gave me  
I'm killing loneliness (Killing loneliness)  
With the warmth of your arms you saved me,  
Oh, I'm killing loneliness with you  
I'm killing loneliness that turned my heart into a tomb  
I'm killing loneliness  
_

I let myself relax with her in my arms. She fit in a way that no one else had, or would. I felt a surge of anger as I realized that it would be longer still before she and I could be together. I suddenly wanted to curse all the aurors into oblivion. She shifted in my arms and tilted her face toward mine.

"Severus?"

"Yes?"

"Would you have ever, in a million years, thought that you would love a bushy-haired know-it-all?"

I chuckled, she could tell when I was in a bad mood and say just the right thing to make me laugh again.

"No, I didn't."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I never thought I'd fall in love with the snarky bat of the dungeons."

_  
Killing loneliness  
With the venomous kiss you gave me  
I'm killing loneliness (Killing loneliness)  
With the warmth of your arms you saved me  
_

We stared at the peeking over the horizon; a new dawn was rising. As we watched the sunrise I began to think about how I'd come to love her, and I knew that she was thinking the same.

A/N Okay, I didn't wait for the eight reviews, but I really want to get going into the past, so I can show you why Severus is acting all OOC. Next chapter, a year and a half ago, when it all started.

HH


	3. Dangerous Meetings

Disclaimer: I don't own it…blah blah blah, not J.K. Rowling…blah blah blah. Read it.

A/N This will be from Hermione's perspective.

The start of a new school year, normally I would be in Hogwarts now, but due to circumstances beyond my control (I hate it when I'm not in control) I'm here, in Machu Pichu, because for some reason Harry thinks that there will be horcruxes here. He swears that Voldemort would choose some remote place like this to hide pieces of his precious soul. It's cold as hell, and wonder off all wonders, Ron is hungry…and complaining about it. I've only spent two and a half months with him and he already annoys me. Thank God I've recovered from my minor brain meltdown last year. Maybe it's because of Dumbledore's death.

Everything has changed since then. Why did he do it? I always defended him. Snape, you're a better actor than I thought; you had me fooled.

Still I have to wonder why didn't he kill Harry? It was the perfect opportunity, he was to busy throwing failed curses to be wary. He just blocked them. He was the Half Blood Prince. His curses were amazing, he could do such damage, even only as a sixth year. He invented his own spells then, I can't even imagine how deadly he must be now, with almost twenty years of being a Death Eater to fall back on.

I surveyed the surrounding abandoned buildings. There was nothing here but tourists and loud noisy American ones at that. (A/N tee hee hee, _looks at penname.) _

"Harry, there's nothing here but buildings!" I yelled

"Five more minutes!" he screamed back at me. He felt as though he needed to find something here. Dumbledore's death was, in his mind, his fault. That was twisted.

"Fine, come find me when you're done, then"

I walked away, shivering from the chill that settled in the air and, it seemed, into my very bones. The wind whipped around me, making my already unruly hair even worse. I ducked into one of the more dilapidated huts hoping to get out of the cold. As I huddled in the corner I heard a twig snap. Believing it was Harry I turned to tell him we should leave. As soon as my mouth opened, a cold hand clamped over it. I stared into the face of the man I had been thinking of only minutes before.

"Ms. Granger, do not move, do not make a sound." He hissed. "Do as I say or I will have to hurt you very badly."

Being that I am indeed Gryffindor, I did the exact opposite of what he told me to do. I tried to pull away and scream for help, but when I moved, he pushed me against the wall and clamped his hand around my mouth tighter. I struggle against him, but that only resulted in him pressing against me harder.

"You can never just do as you are told, can you, foolish girl?"

I longed to scream at him and upon seeing my murderous glare he smiled grimly.

"Listen to me, there is not much time. Tell your friends that the Dark Lord will be here momentarily. It seems as though he has a new informant, one who is telling him exactly where the three of you are, and where you are going. If you don't leave now, he will kill you." He let me go and I stared at him. "Tell Potter that there are no Horcruxes here, or anywhere near here. I will see you again shortly." With that said, he apparated.

I ran from the hut to find Harry and Ron. I didn't know why, but I trusted the information that Snape gave me, but I didn't want to tell Harry or Ron about this encounter. It had been too weird, besides, they wouldn't trust what Snape said, as I already mentioned, I didn't even know why I trusted it… or him.

I just did.

HGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSS HGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSS

We managed to get out in time. But only just. We were sitting quite soberly in the library at my house (Harry was still having a hard time going back to the home he had hoped to share with his guardian and my parents were vacationing in Paris) staring at the fire when Harry spoke.

"We're never going to be able to do this, are we?"

"Harry, don't talk like that, mate. We will." Ron answered dutifully "It's just going to take a while. Meanwhile, I've got to have something to eat."

I rolled my eyes. "Kitchen's downstairs Ron. You know that." I was busily reading my copy of _Potions: Brewing Glory_ and didn't feel like getting up. Setting aside my book would mean focussing on the odd encounter with Professor Snape. I did not want to try to understand what he meant when he said that he'd see me again shortly.

"Hermione!" Ron whined "You know I'm rubbish cooking with all this muggle stuff. Please!"

I set down my book with a dramatic sigh and started downstairs. After working quite peacefully for several minutes, I thought the queerness of the night was over. Not quite.

Once again, a hand clamped around my mouth, but much more softly this time.

"Ms. Granger, I'd suggest you put more advanced wards on this house of yours, it took me less than five minutes to break in."

I turned to face the former potion's professor and gave him a disgruntled look. When he lowered his hand cautiously I hissed "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Manners, Granger. I know it must be hard for a Gryffindor to comprehend, but some people speak in a civil tone to those who have saved their lives more times than they can count."

I glared at him. "I meant, why are you in my house?"

"No offer of thanks? I suppose that _would _be asking too much."

Before I could say anything Ron's voice interrupted.

"'Mione! Come on, I'm hungry."

I winced at the ridiculous nickname.

"Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to finish what I've started."

"No."

"No, what?"

"I won't excuse you. You're coming with me."

BeforeI could protest he, once again, pulled me roughly against him and I was forced to go with him as we apparated in the night.

A/N: There you have it. Chapter three. So, review?

---A.P.---


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